PhD at 26. Conned Twice. Six Years to Break Even.

Описание: What does it really take to build an e-commerce company in Africa?

In this episode of So, How’s Business?, we sit down with Dr. Becky Omodho, Founder and CEO of joojoostores.com, a Pan-African e-commerce platform connecting African artisans and brands to global markets.

From getting conned twice while building her first website, to taking six years to break even, to navigating hiring bias in Kenya after completing her PhD at 26, Becky shares the unfiltered reality of entrepreneurship in Africa.

This is a conversation about resilience, systems, scaling, gender bias, privilege, motherhood, and building big without thinking small.

🎯 What We Discuss

-The truth about building an e-commerce business in Africa
-Why it took six years to break even
-Getting conned by developers as a first-time founder
-Hiring bias and age discrimination in Kenya
-Privilege and entrepreneurship
-Systems vs hiring too fast
-Scaling through partnerships instead of overhead
-Exporting African brands globally
-Navigating male-dominated business environments
-Motherhood and ambition


Chapters:

(00:00:00) Intro
(00:01:12) Becoming a New Mom While Running a Business
(00:01:37) Getting Conned by Family When Building a Website
(00:02:57) Paying Upfront and Getting Ghosted
(00:05:18) Developer Control & Losing Access to Your Own Site
(00:07:34) Switching to Shopify & Rebuilding
(00:08:04) Six Years to Break Even
(00:08:56) Starting During COVID
(00:13:09) Growing Up in a Hustle Family
(00:15:04) Selling Gum at 12: First Business Lesson
(00:19:42) PhD at 26 & Job Rejection in Kenya
(00:30:15) “Wait Until You’re 35” Hiring Bias
(00:33:06) Building Guju & Vetting Vendors
(00:44:25) Systems Before Employees
(00:52:23) Privilege & Entrepreneurship Debate
(00:59:13) Navigating Male Privilege in Business
(01:04:05) Motherhood Changed Everything
(01:08:31) Expanding Across Africa


👩🏾‍💼 About Dr. Becky Amodo

Dr. Becky Amodo is the Founder and CEO of joojoostores.com, an online platform showcasing African fashion, skincare, and artisan brands to the world. With a PhD in Immunology, she transitioned from academia to entrepreneurship and is building a Pan-African e-commerce ecosystem connecting African vendors to global consumers.

African entrepreneurship, E-commerce in Africa, Female founders in Africa, Building a business in Kenya, Startup growth in Africa, Women in business, Scaling an online business, Logistics and systems in startups, African brands exporting globally, Entrepreneurship and motherhood

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#SoHowsBusiness #KenyanBusiness #EntrepreneurshipKenya #WomenInBusiness #AfricanEntrepreneurs #SmallBusinessKenya

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